The company will reach out to the UAW in the near future to start the discussion regarding the opportunities available to them under the automaker’s community organization engagement policy, according to VW.

At the highest of three levels, at least 45 percent of the plant’s eligible workforce, Local 42 can meet biweekly with plant’s executive committee and human resources office. Also, the UAW can reserve and utilize on-site locations for meetings on nonwork time with staff and/or employees as reasonably needed.

In addition, groups can reserve and utilize space in the Conference Center for internal employee meetings on non-work time once per month, and post announcements and information in company-designated locations.

Gary Casteel, the UAW’s secretary-treasurer, said the local leadership is ready to move forward with additional conversations with the company.

“As a starting point, UAW Local 42 will take advantage of the company’s offer to establish biweekly meetings with Volkswagen Human Resources and the Volkswagen Chattanooga Executive Committee,” he said.

You don’t need a union until you do. My father who retired in the 80’s was virulently anti-union…till he saw how a large company employer treated its workers, one of which was me. Now I work for an institution that used to treat its workers very well…and then there was a change in administration. A union sure could have guided that administration into making better decisions that would have been better for the institution in the long run.

It’s a rare case of minority* union organizing working out quite well. Usually unions have gone “exclusive bargaining agent or bust” in what they aim for, but maybe this will inspire workers to follow suit in places where they can’t get enough votes for the above.